Partners Daniel Finkelstein and Lucas A. Ferrara are Adjunct Professors of Law at New York Law School (“NYLS”) and were formerly Adjunct Associate Professors of Real Estate at New York University where they both were awarded the University’s prestigious “Teachers' Excellence Award.”

At NYLS, Mr. Finkelstein and Mr. Ferrara guide second and third-year students through the nuances of real-estate litigation. Not set to only teaching theory, Finkelstein and Ferrara expose their students to real-world issues and fact patterns and cover the day-to-day realities presented in the Civil and Supreme Courts throughout the State. In fact, Mr. Finkelstein and Mr. Ferrara’s students often comment on their good fortune to have instructors who are well versed in the actual application of the law’s seemingly Byzantine concepts and requirements. These testimonials reinforce that Mr. Finkelstein and Mr. Ferrara are preeminent instructors and practitioners.

Not only do they instruct future lawyers, but Mr. Finkelstein and Mr. Ferrara also lecture at continuing legal education seminars sponsored by the Civil Court of the City of New York, The Association of the Bar of the City of New York, New York County Lawyers’ Association, and the Department of Housing Preservation and Development on the latest trends and topics in landlord-tenant law in particular, and real-estate law in general. Given the fact that they are almost always called upon to cover the latest modifications to this seemingly ever-evolving practice field, Mr. Finkelstein and Mr. Ferrara are always a step ahead of the peers.

But it is not just these two partners that go out into the community and share their knowledge base as a source of instruction. Founding partner Jonathan H. Newman has lectured before a number of groups on issues ranging from summary proceedings to negotiations and founding partner Robert Finkelstein participates in NYCLA’s Mentor Program, in which Mr. Finkelstein regularly advises attorneys on the nuances of landlord-tenant law. Of counsel Robert C. Epstein has spoken on real-estate asset management and performance, and even our associates are called upon to lecture and teach on topics ranging form landlord-tenant proceeding basics to law school pedagogy.

Scholarship and publications

Notably, partners Daniel Finkelstein and Lucas A. Ferrara are the named authors of West Publishing's two-volume text Landlord and Tenant Practice in New York. This treatise is the leading authority and reference tool for judges and attorneys throughout New York State. Consisting of over 2000 pages, Messrs. Finkelstein and Ferrara's book explores every legal nuance relating to the landlord-tenant relationship, and is an invaluable reference tool for extensive research projects or a quick check on a particular point of law. To obtain information regarding this critically-acclaimed text please visit the West home page at www.west.thomson.com.

Mr. Ferrara is also a contributing author to the West published text New York State Administrative Procedure and Practice. Mr. Ferrara’s chapter, entitled “Administrative Practice Before the State Division of Housing and Community Renewal,” covers the basics of proceedings before the DHCR, as well as more nuanced topics relating to administrative hearings.

Partners Jonathan H. Newman, Robert Finkelstein, Lucas A. Ferrara, and of counsels Melissa Ephron-Mandel and Robert C. Epstein have been called upon by the media to report and comment on various aspects of real-estate law as it impacts both large institutions and private individuals. And partners Jonathan H. Newman, Robert Finkelstein, of counsel Robert C. Epstein, and associates Barry Gottlieb, and Matthias Li, have all authored or co-authored articles for various legal publications. In short, our attorneys are working hard to stay at the forefront of the field, and are being recognized for their efforts.

Special honors

In 2000, New York Law School announced the creation of the Daniel Finkelstein Commencement Award as a way to honor Daniel Finkelstein's distinguished career, and to acknowledge his many years of service to the legal profession. The award is given each year to the graduating student that displays excellence in researching and writing on a topic relating to real-estate law. The partners of Finkelstein Newman Ferrara LLP, along with faculty members of New York Law School, select the outstanding student-written work from all papers, journal essays and notes, and articles submitted over the course of the academic year. The student whose work is selected receives a substantial monetary prize.